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I agree wholeheartedly that unions can bankrupt cites, they have, and entire states.....they have. Here in NY most of the cities are in financial crisis soley because the unions have them over the barrel and the Dem mayors and Dem city councils who generally get elected in the cities helped them do it.Our governor has also bought off many unions with taxpayer funds. People should open their eyes and see the disasterous effects unions have had on our cities and states. Notice how the suburbs are generally in good shape financially?? It's because there generally are no fire unions and the police are often times county sheriffs.

I figure I can offer a different perspective here on this, since I am a Unionized Law Enforcement Employee in New York State. Basically as a union civil servant in New York we have NO ONE over the barrel, we have the Taylor Law here, which makes it illegal to strike or take a job action, no matter the circumstances. You must understand the politics of public service. Let me give you some examples, a couple of years ago a colleague of mine made an arrest of a subject wanted in a string of robberies in the lower Hudson Valley region, this particular subject happened to be of African-American descent, and the "Black Community" had a problem with the arrest and demanded the cop be fired. The local government that was democratically controlled, put pressure on the testically challenged Police Chief to have this detective fired or suspended, the Police Chief (who eventually sought higher office) attempted to appease his masters, had it not been for the PBA this highly decorated public servant would have been out on his butt, for doing nothing wrong but doing his job. We have FDNY brothers living and working in rat infested fire houses, with radios that dont work. We have NYPD Brothers working second and third jobs to support their families, we have New York State Troopers riding around in Crown Vic Interceptors that blow up when struck from behind, without the Unions these problems would never have been addressed. Instead of attacking Unions, why dont you attack the Mayor who tells firefighters, EMTs and Police Officers that the city doesnt have money for raises, or to provide better equipment, but somehow finds the money to renovate the building in the village to the tune of 3.5 million dollars for the all gay school.

We are proud of our jobs, proud of our Country and proud of our President. After 9/11 we were called heroes, now we are slugs draining our city and state of resources? All we ask for is a decent wage, and a little respect and our Union insures that for us. I have five years on the job, and I make about $32,000 dollars a year in base salary and maybe another 3-4 grand in OT (where I live the median price of a two to three bedroom house is $275,000). This is the profession I have chosen, and I understand that, but how many christmases have you missed with your kids? How many Thanksgivings have you had to eat and run leaving your family to protect someone else's? When you leave for work everyday, do you look into your kids eyes and see the fear in them, wondering if daddy or mommy is coming home at night? Our Unions protect us from unjust disciplinary procedures and BS from politicans and certain community leaders. Before you paint us with the same broad brush, look a little deeper than the surface.